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September 29, 2017

Hospitals can’t refuse patients due to unavailability of beds: Govt

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>In recent instructions, Delhi government has told hospitals that they cannot refuse treatment to patients citing lack of of beds or ventilators as the reason. In the past week, there have been three such incidents where patients were refused treatment and had to shuffle between many hospitals before they lost their lives.A newborn girl child died due to unavailability of beds at three major hospitals in the city, after which the Delhi High Court had issued an order to the Health Department and Delhi Government to make available the information regarding bed occupancy and other medical facilities online.The new instruction also told hospitals that should a patient reach one hospital, they should get all the desired information there, and the concerned hospital will be responsible for this.Earlier, after the death of the newborn baby, a bench of High Court judges had said, “Perhaps if this information (availability of beds) was readily available to the family of the newborn, the life of the child may have been saved.””Given the availability of websites and internet connectivity, it would appear justified if all information in this regard especially, the position with regard to bed occupancy at a particular point of time is made available to the public at large especially, patients and their attendants, to obviate distress to them and also to ensure availability of the best medical assistance at the earliest,” the bench said.After the High Court order, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had stated that if hospitals do not provide necessary information to the family, then strong action would be taken against them.EOM